Review

Review Summary: Nothing intimidating here but just good ole' rock and roll

Rock- based quintet Thunder are a band in the similar vein of Whitesnake, Bad Company, and other various rock n’roll/hard rock bands, each with different highlights, skills, and techniques used throughout their music. Formed at the tail-end of 1989, the five-piece rock band has reached tremendous heights with their career, but has also descended over the past 20 years or so. Remarkably, their debut Back Street Symphony made a staggering impact on their career and generalized their sound as a whole. Following their debut, however, Behind Closed Doors still has the hard-edged style with vicious guitar riffs, and the musical originality (which is standard for the band, because they can seemingly make each album sound entirely different), but nothing has necessarily gone through a dramatic change. You still have the mercenary of backbiting yet melodic guitars, and fun sing-along choruses to drive this album and fire it up. Not to mention, the guitar solos are deep in texture and something although playable, quite challenging and thought-provoking; in other words, the solos themselves are difficult but rewarding. I’m quite certain someone could appreciate this album, and if you’re anything like me, you’ll have hours of fun singing along and (attempting) to play the sweeping riffs and solos.

While this album’s sound isn’t anything particularly different, I love how each band member can bring something new to the table. Gary James has a more simple yet effective drumming style, whereas Ben Matthews is far more musically complex and proficient on a technical scheme. In terms of music, though, each band member has a specific and designated skill that ultimately shows off their best moments. But despite them being somewhat hard to understand (lyrically and sometimes musically), they are a very honest band that writes straight-forward yet fun, interesting songs.

Behind Closed Doors has a very acknowledged attitude towards it, meaning the songwriting and musicality is fairly easy to interpret. Some tunes here are funky and yet some are malicious and aggressive; some are even blissful and calming for the ears. As well as the guitars and common instruments/keyboards alike, they even slide in some late-night-out-Vegas styled horns, making this a thunderous and stimulating thrill. One song I can think of that employs this in a fashionable manner is ‘Fly on the Wall’, a very danceable and smooth track with a whole heck of playability. ‘River of Pain’ is a more aggressive track and has more basic riffs and rhythm setups, but is a great song all around. ‘Future Train’, on the other hand, is one of the most melodic, charming song here, mostly because of the dandy acoustic melody and the rather throaty vocals, yielding in the song to be powerful and lyrically superb.

Another powerful and memorable song here is called ‘Castles in the Sand, featuring the wonderful acoustic guitar and little use of the drum kit; and surprisingly it sounds quite delightful. What I’m trying to say here is, though, as a whole, each and every song presented on this album all sound completely different and blend together quite nicely.

Behind Closed Doors is characterized by its positive style in music, frequently melodic atmosphere best suited for listening to on a surround sound or through a crisp-clear set of headphones that allows the listener to feel engulfed.

Although there aren’t huge improvements (not saying there needs to be any), this is a definite album from the band and displays engaging musicianship. Nothing here is venomous or dark, it’s just fun rock and roll designed for anyone, and not just fans of Whitesnake or any others for that matter. These guys have some truly gifted musical abilities and are exemplified well through this album.

Song recs:

Fly on the Wall
River of Pain
Future Train
Till the River Runs Dry
Stand Up
Castles in the Sand
Too Scared to Live